In short: With the crab method, you point the nose into the wind to cancel drift, hold that crab through the roundout and flare, then use rudder to align the nose with the centerline just before touchdown while opposite aileron keeps the wings level. Rod Machado explains that it works well but demands precise timing, which is why he prefers students ultimately use the wing-low method.
Video: “The Crab Method of Crosswind Landing Correction” by Rod Machado, from his YouTube channel.
What you’ll learn
- How to establish a wind correction angle with coordinated turns on final
- The one moment when rudder alone, not a coordinated turn, is the right input
- Why the crab must come out just before touchdown to protect the landing gear from side loads
- Why drift increases as airspeed bleeds off during a long flare
- How an experienced pilot can increase the crab angle during the flare
Setting Up the Crab
Once you know which way the airplane is drifting, Rod says to make a coordinated turn into the wind and roll out wings level with the nose angled enough to stop the drift. That angle is your wind correction angle. On final, he recommends a stabilized airspeed of 1.3 times the stall speed.
If the wind correction angle needs adjusting, make small coordinated turns with rudder and aileron together. Rod stresses that you should not steer with rudder alone, with one important exception that comes at the very end of the approach.
The Kick-Out at Touchdown
With the crab method, you hold the crab through the roundout and flare. Just before the wheels touch, you remove it with rudder so the longitudinal axis lines up with the centerline, adding whatever opposite aileron is needed to keep the wings level. The goal is to avoid sideways loads on the main landing gear.
Rod explains why turning at this point is a mistake: you are too close to the runway, and a turn gives the crosswind a chance to push you off center. Rudder plus opposite aileron aligns the nose without changing your path.
Why Timing Is Everything
During the flare the airplane slows down, so the sideways part of its motion that was canceling the crosswind shrinks while the crosswind itself stays the same. If you kick out the crab and do not touch down promptly, the airplane starts drifting. A flare stretched out by excess approach speed or a soft-field technique means the crab angle must actually grow during the flare.
Rod walks through how an experienced pilot can add a little crab with rudder pressure toward the crab while keeping the bank very shallow, perhaps five degrees or less, then align the nose at the last moment. He admits it is challenging even for seasoned pilots. That is why, while he introduces the crab to students, he prefers they use the wing-low method, which he covers in his next video.
Go deeper with Rod Machado
Rod covers crosswind corrections, including both the crab and wing-low methods, in depth in his landing course. Learn more in The Art of Takeoffs and Landings eCourse.
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